The sphere of disclosed embodiments extends primarily to vehicle manufacturing, in particular to rail vehicle manufacture. For supplying compressed air to braking systems in rail vehicles compressor arrangements having aftercooling devices are generally used. Water contained in the compressor air condenses in the after-cooling device. Water is delivered in droplet form to an air drier. Conventional air driers are designed to remove the gaseous water fraction from the compressed air. Water fractions in droplet form, on the other hand, must be removed from the compressed air upstream of the air drier. These liquid water fractions, however, have a tendency to freeze at low temperatures. Since the function of a condensate separator device connected to the inlet side of the air drier is aimed at separating the liquid phase from the compressed air, the risk of freezing is greatest at this point of the compressed air system. Attempts are generally made to fit heating elements at points where there is a risk of freezing. However, the condensate separator device is constantly cooled by the compressed air coming from the aftercooler. The area of the drainage aperture and the electrical actuating device, which is often embodied as a solenoid valve, has proved especially critical with regarding to freezing. Here the combination of the electrical actuating device with the condensate is particularly problematical. The condensate can get into the electrical actuating device via the actuating elements and can immediately disable this device or freeze up at the onset of low temperatures.
DE 10 2009 054 064 A1 discloses a condensate separator device of generic type. This comprises an oil/water separator with base-side condensate valve as water drain valve, which for opening and closing can be actuated by a solenoid valve, the outlet of which opens out in a condensate collector vessel.
The solenoid valve opens and closes the passage opening through which the condensate can flow outwards when in the opened state. Here the passage opening and the solenoid valve are fitted to the condensate separator device together as one assembly. When used in the low-temperature range without separate heating elements on the condensate separator device the condensate may freeze up.